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Harvesting Sunflowers

17 years ago

Hello all,

Although a GW veteran, I'm just starting my first seed-saving, and am very excited! I've searched FAQ, and just now can't put my hands on the seed-saving book I bought. We're about to leave for a short vacation, so I need to find out ASAP: can I harvest sunflower seeds from the first flower as it fades, while the plant is still producing lots of other flowers? I love the volunteer sunflower that came up, and want to beat the birds to at least some of the seeds!

Thanks in advance,

Mountainsong

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mountainsong
Original Author
17 years ago
I guess this post got overlooked, but would really appreciate a reply or two from someone out there... I'm back from my vacation and then some, but am looking at my 12' sunflower, and still wondering how to tell when the seeds are ready to harvest. The petals on the first flower are faded, but the rest of the plant is very much in bloom. Can I just cut off the first flower now, or is there a way to tell when those seeds are "ripe" enough?
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